Spraying apparatus



New, 14 2195i) J. NENKS HAL SPRAYING APPTUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 13, 1945 Nm M 195@ J. WENKS ETAL SPRAYING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 13, 1945 INVENTORS. John win/5, yn 72/1 Zea Patented Nov. 14, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SPRAYING APPARATUS John Winks and Lynn Fletcher, Lowell, Mich., assignors to Lowell Specialty Company, Lowell, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application June 13, 1945, Serial N0. 599,258

6 Claims. 1

This invention pertains generally to spraying apparatus, and more particularly to sprayers of the portable type designed to hold several gallons of liquid, such as stains, paints, oils, solvents, insecticides or other chemical preparations, and adapted to be carried on a shoulder strap by the user.

Sprayers of this general type are equipped with an air pressure pump which is manipulated by hand to build up a pressure in the container by which the liquid is discharged through a spray nozzle. The pump has heretofore been customarily carried by the top asembly including the cover for the filler opening. In such constructions removal of the cover for replenishing purposes removes the pump with it, with the result that when the assembly is laid on the ground or elsewhere while the container is being refilled, the pump is liable to become damaged by being dropped or stepped on or to become smeared with dirt, which is carried by the pump back into the container.

One of the primary purposes of our present invention is to provide a sprayer of the character indicated in which the pump is relatively permanently mounted in the container and is structurally independent of the filler opening cover, so that the refilling of the container does not involve removal of the pump.

Another feature of our invention resides in the manner in which the pressure pump is mounted and rigidly sustained in position within the container.

Another feature of our invention resides in the filler opening cover which is hinged upon the inside of the container so that it swings into the container where it is protected against injury, dirt and the like during the refilling, and seals with the container pressure instead of against the pressure, as would be the case were the cover disposed exteriorly of the container.

Another purpose of our invention is to provide a sealing cover having a combined handle and locking device which looks and initially seals the cover in closed position, and also having a relief valve which is normally closed but which can be opened by manipulation of the locking handle so as to relieve the container pressure in order that the cover when freed from the internal pressure will unseal and swing down into the container, thus freeing the opening for refilling purposes. This feature and that mentioned in the immediately preceding paragraph are disclosed and claimed in our copending application Serial No. 721,400, filed January 10. 1947.

Still another feature of our invention is to so locate the nipple to which the spray hose is connected that the hose clamp will be disposed within the peripheral confines of the container. This structure protects the connection of the hose to the tube and prevents the hose clamp from catching on branches, vines or other obstructions and being pulled loose from the tube. This feature forms the subject matter oi the copending application Serial No. 728,611, of Lynn L. Fletcher, filed February 14, 1947.

Other purposes and advantageous features of our invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Referring to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a spraying apparatus embodying our invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevation of the upper portionof the apparatus looking from a position to the left of and in a direction toward the right at Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the structures of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings more in detail, it will be observed that the liquid container, which is of generally cylindrical form, is for purposes of strength and for economy in manufacture made up of a central cylinder 6 of relatively light sheet metal and a bottom 1 and top 8 of heavier sheet metal adapted to withstand the impacts to which such a container is subjected in ordinary usage. The top and bottom are securely attached to the intermediate portion 6, preferably by riveting and soldering, and in this manner the weight of the container is reduced over what it would be if made entirely of the heavier metal comprising the top and bottom, while the ends, when injury is most likely to occur, are sufficiently strong and heavy to meet the requirements.

In use the container is carried by a shoulder strap 9 slung over the shoulder of the user. The end wall of the top 8 is provided, as will be ap-r parent from Figs. 3 and 4, with two openings, the

larger, roughly oval in shape, being the filling.

opening adapted to be closed by the cover H, and the smaller, of circular shape, being adapted to accommodate the pump cylinder II, the upper end of which is threaded for connection with the flanged pump cap ll.

The pump cylinder is provided near its upper end with a circumferential bead or shoulder H which is larger in diameter than the pump opening II in the end or the container, and a gasket l4 interposed between the shoulder l4 and the margins surrounding the opening Ii serves to provide a hermetic seal when the cap it is threaded into snug engagement with the end wall so that the wall is snugly clamped between the flange ll of the cap and the gasket I. In this manner the pump is suspended and rigidly held within the container entirely independently of the filler opening and its closure II. The parts are assembled by introducing the pump cylinder into the container through the flller opening and then projecting its upper end outwardly through the opening l5, whereupon the cap it may be threaded into clamping position, as shown.

A piston I8 reciprocable in the cylinder I2 by a piston rod I9 extends through a guide 2| carried by the cap I! and is attached at its upper end to a handle 22 by which the piston is operated. The handle is provided with legs 22 terminating in outwardly disposed flanges 24, and the cap I! is provided with openings enlarged at one end, as indicated at 25, to permit the passage therethrough of the flanges 24, but of reduced width at the other end so that upon rotative movement of the handle in a counter-clockwise direction viewing Fig. the flanges 24 will be positioned beneath the margins of the narrow portions of the openings. The handle, therefore, cannot be pulled away from the cap. Thus the handle is locked in its innermost position when the pump is not being used, and in such position it may serve as a carrying handle by which the entire sprayer may be carried. The handle when engaged with the cap, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, may be employed in applying the cap to or removing it from the upper end of the cylinder by a rotative movement. While the pump normally remains in its mounted position, the piston may be withdrawn for repair or replacement purposes by disconnecting the cap I! and lifting the cap and piston away from the cylinder by means 0 the handle 22.

The lower end of the pump, which projects beneath the level of the liquid in the container when the container is nearly one-half filled or more, is provided with. an open valve chamber which contains a check valve 26 urged by a spring 21 into engagement with a seat formed in an apertured plug 28 threaded into the valve chamber member 29 and serving to connect this member with the bottom 3| of the pump. The check valve permits discharge of air by the pump piston until manually disconnected therefrom for removal of the gasket or other repair purposes.

Upon the outer face of the cover II a substantially D-shaped handle 21 made of rod stock is mounted by means of a keeper 38 for lateral oscillatory movement and longitudinal reciprocatory movement with respect to the cover. The free end of the pivoted portion of the handle is downturned, as indicated at 39, Fig. 4, for engagement with a wear plate 4| when the handle is laid flat upon the cover (as shown in Fig. 3), to thereby lock the closure in closed position and establish an hermetic seal for the cover. This is the normal position of the parts, and the locking projection 39, by reason of its projection over a corner of the cover, is held against retraction so long as the handle is not swung to thereby raise the projection 39 above the plane of the cover. Since a substantial pressure, dependent upon the extent of manipulation of the hand pump, is established and maintained within the container during operation, such pressure will hold the cover in closed position regardless of the locking member 39. Should access to the interior of into the container to build up pressure therein and prevents reverse flow of liquid or air into the pump cylinder.

The cover I! for the filler opening is provided, as shown in Fig. 4, with a peripheral flange 32 providing a seat for a gasket 33 which forms a seal between the cover and the container around the filler opening. The oblong shape of the opening and cover permits the introduction of the cover endwise into the container where it is hingedly supported by engaging a pair of hooks 24 mounted on the cover in eyes of a bracket 35 suspended from the upper wall of the container. This bracket is held in place by a plurality of rivets 36. The hinging of the cover on the bracket is readily accomplished by reaching in through the tiller opening. When once mounted as illustrated, the cover remains hinged to the bracket the container become necessary, relief of the internal pressure so as to release the cover is desirable. For this purpose we have mounted upon the under side of the cover I I a small housing 42 providing a valve seat for a valve 43 which is urged into seated position by a spring 44. This valve, therefore, remains normally closed when the handle is down against the cover and the projection 39 is engaged with the plate 4|. The stem 45 of the valve projects above the surface of the cover in alignment with the pivoted portion of the handle 31. Therefore, as the handle is slid to the right viewing Fig. 4, or upwardly viewing Fig. 3, the handle first rides over and depresses the stem 45, thereby opening valve 43 to relieve the pressure within the container and thereafter the projection 39 clears the marginal edge of the vessel about the opening. When the pressure is thus relieved, the cover, having been unlocked by the aforesaid movement of the handle, is free to swing downwardly under the influence of gravity from the full line to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 4.

Under the influence of the air pressure built up in the container by the manipulation of the pump, the liquid therein is discharged through a tube 46 to the outer projecting end of which a flexible hose 41 carrying the spray nozzle (not shown) is connected by means of a hose clamp Prior to our invention the tube 46 has been extended through a wall of the container so that its end to which the hose was attached extended beyond the perimeter of the container. In use, particularly where vines, branches and the like were prevalent, the hose clamp would, not infrequently, become caught on such vine, branch or the like and as a result the hose would become disconnected from the tube with consequent loss under pressure of a portion and sometimes practically all of the liquid in the container. This objectionable feature, however, is overcome in the present instance by locating the hose clamp within instead of outside the peripheral confines of the container. This we have accomplished by providing a hole 49 in the container wall and covering the hole on the inside with an angular metal piece 5| shaped in contour to conform to the outlines of the hole and provide a wall 62 through which the tube 48 projects and to which it is flxedly secured by solder 53. The end of the tube It is, therefore, disposed in the recess formed by the angle member 6i and the hose clamp by which the hose is connected to the tube is disposed within the confines of the container where it cannot contact with or catch onto obstacles such as vines and the like which would be apt to disconnect the hose from the tube.

It should be apparent from the foregoing that we have provided a spraying apparatus embodying a number of advantageous features. The construction of the container itself possesses both strength and lightness, and is economical to produce. The pump is permanently mounted in the container entirely independently of the filler opening and its permanent mounting is not interfered with when refilling of the container is required. The mounting, however, is such that the piston f the pump may be removed for inspection or repairs without removing the pump cylinder. The closure for the filler opening is hlngedly mounted inside the container, whereby it closes with rather than against the pressure, thus insuring a hermetic seal. A locking handle locks the closure in closed position and provides an initial seal, and a relief valve is arranged to be opened when the handle lock is released, thereby relieving the container pressure and permitting the closure to open under the influence of gravity. Finally, the connection between the nozzle hose and the delivery tube is disposed within the peripheral confines of the container, thus accidental displacement of the hose from the tube is minimized.

The structural details illustrated and described may obviously be varied within considerable limits without departing from the scope of our invention as defined in the following claims.

We claim:

1. In a pressure type apparatus of the character described, a pressure vessel having a pair of spaced apart apertures through a wall thereof, one of said apertures being substantially circular and of relatively small area in the plane of said wall for reception of an end portion of a pump cylinder, the other of said apertures being substantially larger in area in the plane of said wall than the area of said small aperture, a pump cylinder disposed within said vessel with an end portion projecting into said small aperture, a

flange relatively permanently secured to and encircling said cylinder within said vessel, the said flange .being of such dimensions in a plane substantially parallel to the inner surface of the wall margin about said small opening as to overlap said margin surface about the perimeter of said small opening, a gasket between said flange and said margin surface, means on the exterior of said wall for clamping said flange. gasket and wall in pressure-tight inter-engagement and securing said pump cylinder in relatively fixed position within said vessel, the said cylinder and its flange being lnsertable through the larger aperture into said vessel, a reciprocating pump piston within said cylinder, means projecting to the exterior of the vessel for reciprocating. said piston, means for sealing said larger opening, means including a handle member movable between locking and unlocking positions for look-- ing and unlocking said sealing means, and means operated upon initial movement of the handle member toward unlocking position for releasing pressure in the vessel.

2. A spraying apparatus, comprising a pressure holding container consisting of a central cylindrical portion and top and bottom end portions secured thereto in pressure tight relation, said top portion being provided with a refilling opening and a pump opening, a closure for said refilling opening, a pump cylinder disposed in said pump opening, said cylinder having an integral peripheral dance of greater dimensions than said pump opening, a gasket interposed between said flange and the inner face of said top wall of the container, said cylinder having an end portion projecting into said pump opening, the projecting end of said cylinder being provided with threads, said refilling opening being of greater dimensions than said peripheral flange thereby to receive said cylinder bodily therethrough, and a pump cap threaded on said projecting end and reacting against the exterior of the container whereby said cylinder is relatively permanently clamped in position in the container.

3. A spraying apparatus, comprising a pressure holding container having a top wall provided with a pair of openings, a closure for one ofsaid openings hingedly connected to said wall, a. pump cylinder projecting through the other opening, the outer projecting end of said cylinder being provided with threads, a peripheral shoulder on the cylinder in proximity to and of greater dimension than said openin said shoulder being of lesser diameter than any dimension of the other of said openings and disposed against the inner face of said wall, a gasket interposed between said shoulder and the inner face of said wall, a cap threaded onto the. projecting end of the cylinder whereby the cylinder is clamped in position, a handle arranged for connection with and disconnection from said cap, and a piston connected with said handle, the handle being adapted to operate the piston, said handle and cap having releasable interlocking means whereby to rotate said cap to thread it on and off of said cylinder end, said handle also being adapted t serve as a carrier for said apparatus.

4. In a spraying apparatus, a pressure container having one wall provided with a refilling opening, an air pressure pump relatively permanently mounted in said wall in spaced relation to said refilling opening, a bracket carried by said wall inside the container and in proximity to said opening, a closure for said opening, means carried by said closure for connection with said bracket to provide a hinged support for said closure inside the container, manually operable means movable along a predetermined path for locking said closure in closed position and for unlocking the closure, and a pressure relief valve in the path of movement of and arranged to be opened by engagement with said manually operable means when the same is moved toward unlocking position.

5. In a spraying apparatus, a pressure container of cylindrical form having a closed bottom end wall and a top end wall rovided with a pump receiving opening anda fill opening, a pump cylinder disposed within said container with the axis of the cylinder substantially in register with said receiving opening, means releasably securing said pump cylinder to the inside surface of said top end wall about the margins of said pump opening and against removal through said pump receiving opening, means between said pump cylinder and the said inside surface margins of the top and wall about said pump receiving opening and responsive to pressure forces within said container for effecting an hermetic seal between the pump cylinder and top end wall, said fill opening tainer to the atmosphere.

6. In a spraying apparatus, a pressure con-, tainer of cylindrical form having a closed bottom end wall and a top end wall provided with a pump receiving opening and a fill opening, a pump cylinder disposed within said container with the axis of the cylinder substantially in reglater with said receiving opening, means including means carried by said pump cylinder for se curing the pump cylinder to said top end wall and restricting the same against removal through said pump receiving opening, means between said pump cylinder and the margins oi the top end wall about said receiving opening and responsive to pressure forces within said container for effecting an hermetic seal between the pump (2171-. inder and top end wall, said fill opening having dimensions, in the plane of the top end wall, greater than the corresponding transverse dimensions of said pump cylinder whereby. upon release of said pump cylinder from sealing engagement with the wall, the pump cylinder may be removed through said 1111 opening, a closure for sealing said fill opening, and valve means for venting said container to the atmosphere.

JOHN WINKS. LYNN FLETCHER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent;

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 574,420 Heiser Jan. 5, 1897 689,819 Brooks Mar. 12, 1901 676,204 Rippley June 11, 1901 715,982 Chapin Dec. 16, 1902 755,392 Rumberg Mar. 22, 1904 1,204,055 Nash Nov. 7, 1916 1,330,987 Runyon Feb. 17, 1920 1,432,216 Steinmeyer Oct. 17, 1922 1,557,650 Brandt Oct. 20, 1925 1,630,672 Sage May 31, 1927 1,691,097 Waters Nov. 13, 1928 1,751,323 Gray Mar. 18, 1930 1,823,595 Ducroux Sept. 15, 1931 1,870,973 Thwaits Aug. 9, 1932 2,052,344 Edelmann Aug. 25, 1936 2,128,637 Davis Aug. 30, 1938 2,185,534 Bernhardt Jan. 2, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 168,252 Great Britain 8e t. 1, 1921 

